An Irvine Subway staff member will make a splash by swimming the length of the English Channel to raise money for a heart charity.

Colin Lundy will swim thousands of lengths over the period of 12 weeks at Auchenharvie in a bid to battle to help people be more conscious of their health and raise awareness to fight ‘heart disease’.

The 32-year-old who works in Subway in Irvine is aiming to raise vital funds for Heart Research UK – the sandwich chains charity partner by swimming 22 lengths of the pool each day.

Originally from Belfast, Colin is used to taking to the pool having spent a great deal of time as a keen swimmer back home.

Now the dad-of-four is up for the fresh challenge which he hopes will encourage others to get fit.

He told the Herald: “ The challenge is the same distance as the Channel, it’s 22 miles. I’m going to be doing it at Harvies Pool,” he joked, “ At this time of year, there is absolutely no chance I’ll be swimming in that sea – I’d shrivel up.”

“I am a strong swimmer, growing up in the pool over the years in Belfast so I can get myself back into it to keep myself fit and to just give myself a wee challenge as well.

“I wanted to raise awareness for Heart Research just to generally try and promote healthy living, so we can tell everyone the importance of everyone being healthy and trying to cut down heart disease.

“If I can raise £500 or £1,000 that would be amazing. I’ve got a JustGiving page set up and I also have sponsor sheet forms in my work in Irvine.”

Colin has already inspired one local to get involved, as he revealed his 10-year-old son is also going to follow in the footsteps of his dad.

He added: “My son wants to do it as well, I might bring him down on the first day, he wouldn’t be able to do as many because of school but he’s keen to give it a go. He’s been in the swimming clubs from when he was younger, he’s not bad at all.”

Heart Research UK invest in pioneering medical research to improve heart health and beat heart disease.

In Scotland it’s estimated that an average of 41 people a day die from cardiovascular disease (CVD) with the rate of deaths from coronary heart disease almost 50 per cent higher than in the South East of England.

The Heart of Scotland campaign aims to celebrate the country’s hospitals and universties that are leading the way with ground-breaking research to fund life-changing treatments.

Colin will start his bid to help the charity on February 1.